As a small- or medium-sized business owner, you know that two things you are always short on are time and money. That?s why it is so important that you make the best use of every minute and dime you spend on your business. 

And one of the most important areas in which I often see small- and medium-sized business owners fall short in properly managing their time and money is marketing. 

There are several reasons for this, not the least of which is that marketing is becoming increasingly difficult. However, another reason many business owners struggle when it comes to marketing is they do not practice what I like to call ?intentional marketing.?

What is ?intentional marketing??

I define intentional marketing as a sustained process of marketing a business in which every act of marketing is done so with a specific goal in mind, and that goal is not ?earn more revenue.? 

Why? 

Yes, earning revenue is the goal for every business. But when it comes to intentionally marketing your business, you must dig a little deeper and look at how each action you take will help you attract prospective clients or customers, retain and gain the loyalty of current clients or customers, and grow your online presence. 

And without you specifically stating “more revenue, if you done right; the ultimate result of your marketing efforts will be an increase in revenue. 

Here are reasons why practicing intentional marketing is so important, including an example how of intentional marketing will make you a more effective and efficient marketer.

Stop ?Random Acts of Marketing?

A common refrain I hear from people I meet while networking is ?I tried email marketing for a bit but it didn?t work? or ?I never got anything from social media.? But when I ask if they set marketing goals or took some time to properly define their target audience, the answer is always ?no.?

This means they were most likely sending out marketing emails or social media messages with no real rhyme or reason. This is the opposite of intentional marketing and was instead what I call ?random acts of marketing.? Random acts of marketing are less likely to work because there is often no purpose behind them beyond generating revenue, and often they fail to gain the attention of the intended audience. 

Random acts of marketing make you come across as too much of a salesperson. Even though everyone is buying, no one wants to be sold. 

Scale Your Business By Focusing On What?s Important

Practicing intentional marketing is really about developing a marketing strategy. This means you are focusing your marketing efforts on getting you closer to reaching your organizational milestones. 

Intentional marketing allows you to hone in on which products or services you should be promoting, who you should be targeting, and how you should be targeting them. 

You will be able to scale your business because your marketing efforts are focused, sustainable, and you can see what is (and what is not) important to the long-term health of your business. 

Prevent Confusion Amongst Your Target Audience

You may have heard the addagge ?a confused mind doesn’t buy.? When you engage in random acts of marketing, you have a greater chance at confusing your audience because you do not have a larger plan or story to tell. 

Telling the story of your business can be a powerful way to attract and retain new customers, but only if you do so in an orderly fashion. Random or infrequent messaging is more likely to confuse your audience, which will not result in the ultimate goal of increased revenue. 

Intentional marketing means you have developed a system of marketing that allows you to tell a cohesive story about your business and how you are uniquely qualified to address the needs of your audience. This will result in more followers, a larger audience, and in the end, an increase in revenue. 

Putting it Into Play: How Intentional Marketing Makes You an Effective and Efficient Marketer

An example of practicing intentional marketing would be creating a Facebook group for your business to build awareness of your products and services. While you would be happy if the Facebook group generated revenue, that is a secondary goal. Your primary goal for the group is to get people to share their email address with you and to get to know you.

You will add these email addresses to a list that you will send emails to on a regular basis to help educate your audience about how you can alleviate their pain points. Those emails will direct people to a place where they can make a purchase, sign up for services, or schedule an appointment. 

So, the Facebook group is not specifically designed to generate revenue. However, because you have outlined a process to get someone from awareness to purchase, you are practicing intentional marketing, which will make you much more effective and efficient. 

Large or small, the companies who are the most successful at marketing their businesses are the ones who find a way to do in the most effective and efficient manner. Practicing intentional marketing allows small- and medium-size business owners to do this because they are focusing their efforts on specific marketing actions which will ultimately result in increased revenue in less time and with less effort.